Lighting Shines At Auction As Headliners Soar

An unusual Gustav Stickley china cabinet and a Frank Lloyd Wright chair from a Tokyo hotel may have received the most attention at Don Treadway and John Toomey's auction in Oak Park last Sunday, but Arts & Crafts collectors demonstrated they are always in need of more lighting in their homes.

A tall, narrow and delicate-looking china cabinet designed by Harvey Ellis for Gustav Stickley in 1903 came in with a presale estimate of $12,000-$15,000 and went out for $26,000 (prices do not include the buyer's premium). One of the few chairs rescued from the Imperial Hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1922 and demolished in 1968 was expected to bring from between $15,000-$20,000, and finished at a solid $23,000 (see photo).

Across the board the final bids came in just about where expected on nearly everything in this wide-ranging sale that included representative pieces from all of the major furniture companies and metalware shops, with a more narrow selection of art pottery.

Arts & Crafts lighting was well-represented in every price range and found ample bidders. An early 22" Dirk van Erp mica shade table lamp (est. $12,000-$15,000) led the way at $20,000, but just as impressive were the number of unsigned or lesser known oak and slag glass table lamps that nearly doubled their pre-sale estimates. Two attractive Prairie School oak lamps ran past their pre-sale estimates of $900-$1200 to finish at $1500 and $1700 (pictured). A similar lamp with the Daisy shopmark (est. $600-$800) went to $1200, while an unsigned lamp with a pre-sale estimate of $300-$500 kept bidders active up to $800.

The bidding on a rare Limbert copper table lamp with copper overlay atop yellow glass (est. $5000-$7000) did not stop until it reached $8500, while a Handel floor lamp finished at $4500.

Lesson of the Day:

Cut an inch off the legs of a 1901 Gustav Stickley chair and it dies at $175.

Cut a foot off the legs of a Lifetime library table and it runs past its pre-sale estimate of $400-$600 to go home to be somebody's coffee table at $1200.

(No one wants to admit to having cut one down, but somebody sure wanted to own an antique Arts & Crafts coffee table.)

For complete auction results, go to http://www.treadwaygallery.com.

- Bruce Johnson

Next Week: Attention turns to David Rago's October 1st and 2nd auction. To view their catalog, go to http://www.ragoarts.com.